NewsFlashLyondellBasell to boost N American ethylene capacity by 18%

NEW YORK (ICIS)--LyondellBasell plans to raise North American ethylene capacity by 18% over the next several years through debottlenecks, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

“We aim to finish these projects two-to-three years earlier than our competition at a cost of around $0.50/annual lb versus $0.80 - faster, cheaper,” said Jim Gallogly, CEO of LyondellBasell at the company’s investor day event.

“We hope these projects will be paid for before our competitors even come online,” he added.

LyondellBasell plans to raise its ability to crack natural gas liquids (NGL) from 85% to 90% going forward, said Gallogly.

It also will conduct “a variety of modest US derivative debottlenecks” at a cost of around 10 cents/annual lb or less, he said.